A variety of terminal means for electrically connecting wires have been proposed and put into practical use. One such terminal means comprises a male terminal connected to an end of a wire and a receptacle terminal connected to an end of another wire, such that a tab portion of the male terminal is inserted into the receptacle portion of the receptacle terminal. The tab portion is resiliently disposed in the receptacle portion, electrically connecting the two terminals to each other.
Although the use of such terminal means ensures easy engagement of the terminals, the electrical connection of the terminals is assured through the spring force of the receptacle portion. Accordingly, when the spring force is reduced, the electrical connection of the terminals tends to be poor, resulting in a reliability problem; particularly, since the spring force of the receptacle portion is obtained through the function of a leaf spring formed by bending a section of the receptacle portion into a predetermined shape. Poor connection will occur when the spring force of the leaf spring is decreased due to a permanent set thereof created when the tab portion of the male terminal is inserted into the receptacle portion of the receptacle terminal in an improper manner when they are mated together.